Improvement in harvesting-machines



UNH-,ED ...STATES SAMUEL- K. Pantin,y OFtVoLANT, PIENYNSYLVAIA.

iMPRo-VEMENT iN HARvEsTiNG-MAcHiNi-:s-

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No.`43.33 l, dated June 528, 1864.

To all whom 'it may concern: v

Be it'known that I, SAMUEL K. PADEN, of Volant, in the county ot' Lawrence and State of Pennsy1vania,'have invented certain new `anduseful Improvements in Harvesting-*lim chines; and I do hereby declare `that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying draw ings, making a part ot' this specification, in

anism-for raising and lowering the cutting ap-'- paratus and grain-receiver; also, in connection with Vthev raising and loweringr mechanism, the device for automatically taking up or letting out the driving belg-seas Valways to keep it properly strained for driving the reel also, in `connection with the double joint between the 'cutting apparatus and the main frame,-the

bridging or aprons for allowing the cut grain to be carried over or past the two hinged joints onto the main fr-ame.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe the same with reference to the drawings.

A-represents a main-frame,supported in rear by the two main drivingwheels BB and in front by a truck', C. The main frame carries, in addition to the cutting and gathering de vices and tbe gear that operates them, a thrashing and cleaning mechanism, which latter, however, not being pertinent to this application, I shall only casually refer to, as it cannot be claimedin connection with the reapingI and-gathering o f the grain.

The bevel-gear-D on the main axle E is Iloose, but held to its-place by two collars, a a'.

The hub of the gear D has 'ratchet-teeth b formed in it, against which a spring-pawl, c',

on the fast collar a takes, andthus causes said gear D to turn with the axle, (this arrangement -is more distinctly seen in a detached sketch lo the right ot' Fig. 1 5) but when the axle E suddenly stops by the stoppage ot the team, and when there'is considerable momentuln upon the other movingparts of the machine, .without some provision therefor the teeth ofthe gears would be apt to break; but the arrangement I have shownallows the gearing torun by its momentum until that is exhausted without detrimentA to any'ot the parts, the ratchet-teeth on the bevelfdrive-gear D slipping past'the spring-pawls c.' AThere are also upon the main drive-wheels B B spring-pawls A(1,"that'ivork into ratchet-teeth con a collarattached to the axle for causing the wheels and axle to turntogether when the machine is mov ing forward, but allowing-them tomove independent `ot' the axle. when .the machine is backed. The bevel-wheel D turns a bevel-pin ion, F, on a shaft-, saidshat-'t also carryinga. gear-wheel, G, that meshes with and turns .a pinion, g, on one en d -ot a shaft, H, passing through the mouth of the thrashing-machine, its opposite end having a pnion,h, on it, which turns the pinion c' to a wrist, on whichthe pitrnauj is connected to`workthe cutters.

On a shat't,.l, to `which a lever, J, is attached, so as to operate it, there is a sprocket or chain wheel, It, towhich one endfot'Y a chain, l, is united, its other end bengconnected to a siniilar sprocket or chainwheel, m,'on the end ot' a shaft, mwhich shaft t'ornis one ofthe hinged or pivoted joints by which' the platformrK is connected to the main frameA, the other joint or hinge being at o, and the -two joints connected by an apronor bridge, p, AThe sprocketwheel k has a ratchet. q, connected with it,

into which alever-pawl, L, pivoted at fr, takesto hold it at any fixed position. The other sprocket-wheel, m', has a segment ofteeth, s, upon the shaft with it, which take into the teeth tof a curvedarc, M, pivoted at u toa piece; N, pro! jecting from the main frame A. At the opposite end of the shaft n there is another segmental-tocthed` wheel, s', similar to that s, and which works into another curved and hinged rack or arc,-M, similar to that M. Now, by this arrangement the operator. by 'first throwing out thelever pawl or dog L and graspingthe lever J can let down the cutting apparatus to any desired height within its adjustment, it falling by its own weight and maintaining its parallelism with the ground by means of the double-hinged joints by which it is connected tothe main frame. When at the-desired position. by letting go ,the dog L it will catch into the ratchet q,'and there hold the platform and-its several parts. By simply reversing the motion. of the leverJ the cuttiugetpparatus, platform, reel, and their connections are raised up, the dog L catching and holding them from dropping when the lever is released.

The shaft n has upon it a'. bevel-gear, which works into and turns abevel-gear, O, on one end of a shaft, P, placed underneaththc'platform `K and exten-ding tothe outer or grain end of said platform, said shaft P thus receiving motion from the shaftn when n for any purpose is moved. The extreme'outer end of the shaft P has upon it acogged pinion, Q, which works into twostraight racks,'.'fv w, the one, n, being vertical and attached to the axle of thebntside supporting-wheel, It, for the purposevo'f raising and ,lowering the outer end of i tlx'eplatl'oriix 'and' cutting` apparatus at the same tiin'e and by the same motion that raises and. lowers its other or innerr endrand thus maintain its horizontal position or rather parnllel position with ythe ground. 'i'.lh'e horizontal rack 'w has upon ita pulley, ai, over which the endlessbeltS, thatdrives the reel'l'passes, said belt being driven fromthe'outside supporting-wheel, R, and as the' reel is lowered with the cutting apparatus toward Athe wheel R the rack w, with 'its pulley gr, takes up a-ll the slack of the'A belt, and vice versa.` When thereel is raised up it gives out the belt again, and thus always preserves a proper driving tension upon it.

The platform Kis braced from the' rear ot vthe main frame by a brace-rod, U, which can beadj usted by meau'sof the screw-thread thereon and theuut V, through which it passes.

The grain when cut is thrown back by the reel intoa kind of box or trough, through which an endless carrying-belt (shown in red lines, Fig. ,1) travels, it passing over a driven drum, y, ou the shaft H, and running around a friction-drum,"W,at its outer end. The shaft Ei,

as beforeidescribed,^passes through the mouthA of-the thrrshing apparatus,fandy thus the out grain is carried directlyjnto the th rasher without turuinglt on its passage thereto, and. that the grain in its passage may not be interfered with by the hinged connections between the cutting apparatus and mainframe the vspace over the h ingesis bridged by thepiece X, which in nowise cramps the hinged movement.

The bars Y, that extend to and support the main frame ou the truck C, are arched up, s0 that in turning around the wheels of the truck may turn under them. The connection of the truck=frame toits axle is such that while the wheels may assume a plane parallel to the ground over which they are passing the frame may retain its level position; but as this feature is applicable to carriages generally,.and for which I have mado'application for separate Letters Patent, a' more full explanation of.' it hereis not deemed necessary.

Z is the drivers seat.

Aware thata thrashing machineis uotappropriately a part of the subject-matter of`a-u application for a patent for an improvement;` in

harvesters, yet as I propose to thrash the grain ou the machine, I have shown such amachine connected in all its parts with the harvestingmachine. A more special reference thereto than that shown in the drawings is not here given, as it would notvbe deemed relevant tothe subject-matterherein, clai med .l

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination ofthe chain, chainwheels, pinions, and curved segments for raising or lowering am?. holding the cutting appa' ratts at any adjusted height, substantially as described.

A2. In connection with'theraising and lowering mechanism, the shaft P, its pinion Q.'aud the two racks 'v w for` taking up or letting 'out the rcel-drivin g belt s to keep its tension on the pulleys uniform, substantially as described.

3. In combination with the double-hinged' jointsno between the platform and main frame,

'the coupling p and bridge X,for the purpose of conveying the grain from the platform to the main frame by a belt, substantially as de# scribed.

S. K. PADEN Witnesses:

A. B. STOUGHTON, BENJAMIN SMITH. f 

